Why do you need a covering letter?
“My pet hates: incomplete and inaccurate application forms, no covering letter, poor grammar and spelling, careless handwriting and letters written on scrap paper” _Partner in firm of solicitors. |
The covering letter is vital to your CV. This is why it is the first page and not an addition. "Please find enclosed my CV" won't get you very far.
附信对于你的CV来说至关重要,这也是我们把附信放在第一页的原因。
Your covering letter demonstrates your writing style better than your CV (which is usually more brief and factual).
附信比CV更能证明你的写作技巧。
The covering letter puts flesh on the bare bones of the CV. It points out to the employer the information showing that you have the qualities the job calls for, and makes a statement about yourself and your suitability for the job. It should give the personal touch that your CV will intrinsically lack.
附信向招聘者表明:1.你已经拥有了这份工作所需要的品质;2.对你自己以及你自己适合这份工作,做一个陈述。
A survey in the US of employers found that- 42.9% wanted candidates to submit a cover letter for each position.
- 29.8% felt that they were not important ("I don't have the time to read them anyway")
- 27.4% had no preference
How long should your covering letter be?In the same survey above
- 19% of employers preferred a full page
- 46% preferred half a page
- 11% had no preference
- 24% felt the shorter the better!
The key point here is that it should never be longer than one page long.
关键点在于附信不能长于一页。
| Find a quiet place to write your letter ..... |
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Try to find the name of the person to write to. Research by Forum3 found that those who included a letter with their CV were 10% more likely to receive a reply and those who addressed the covering letter and envelope to the correct named person were 15% more likely to receive a letter of acknowledgement and 5% more likely to gain an interview. They also found that 60% of CVs are mailed to the wrong person, with the managing director being the main beneficiary of the unsolicited mail.
Think of a covering letter as a glass of brandy. It's a short measure, quite potent, you'll know very quickly if you like it or not, and it's very easy to judge the quality. A CV is more like a glass of wine. It's a bit longer, and while like brandy it's basically fermented fruit juice it takes more time to grade, and probably a bit more skill. -David Welsh, Richmond Solutions
将你的附信比作一杯白兰地。量很小,但酒劲很足,你可以很快知道你是否喜欢它,并且你可以很容易就可以判断出质量的好坏。 而你的CV更像是一杯烈酒。CV更长一点,而白兰地基本就是发酵的果汁因而需要更多的时间去评级,并且需要更多一点的技巧。 |
A recent survey by Saddleback College in the USA found that the preferred salutions of HR managers were:
- Dear Hiring Manager, 38.1% (I'm not so sure that this is right for the UK!)
- Dear Sir/Madam, 17.9%
- Dear Human Resource Director, 9.5%
- To whom it may concern, 26.2%
- Leave it blank if you don't know the name. 8.3%
"We would recommend to students that they think carefully about how to re-write at least their covering letter, and possibly also their CV specifically for the post they are applying for. The best applications were succinct and clear, with unfussy covering letters and CVs.It is also always worth checking over a covering letter before sending it, as there were silly errors such as spelling mistakes or the covering letter written for a different placement. A good idea that we saw surprisingly little of is to list the competencies that the job advert says are being looked for, and outline how and why you fulfil those competencies. "——Civil Service
A survey of 500 employers and 2,000 consumers by the jobsite Foosle found that 60% of employers think CVs don't accurately represent people applying for jobs in their organisations. Many candidates use buzz words they think employers wish to hear.‘Hard-working', 'team player' and 'motivated' were the most over-used words on CVs making them meaningless to employers and doing little to make candidates stand out. |
The writing rules of George Orwell
- Never use a long word where a short one will do.
- If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
- Never use the passive voice (e.g. "Bones are liked by dogs") where you can use the active voice ("Dogs like bones").
- Never use jargon if you can think of an everyday equivalent.
Does your surname matter? [size=1em]Researchers at Cambridge University found that, if your surname is King or Prince, you are more likely to be a manager, whereas those with more “common” names such as Cook or Baker are more likely to end up in blue-collar jobs.
What do employers look for in covering letters?Onesurvey of employers found the following
(From the brilliant 2010 Orange County Resume Survey by Eric Hilden)
- 33% Tailored skills from the job description
- 26% Clarity (well-written, formatted, specifying job applied to)
- 20% Details from your CV (additional accomplishments, explanation of any gaps, etc.)
- 19% Your value, not the basics, why we should hire you
- 18% Spelling & grammar
- 17% Personal vision & uniqueness
- 12% Brevity
- 10% I never read them!